Russia Bars 5 Americans From Entry

Russia this week barred five former U.S. officials from entering the country in response to the United States’ decision to impose sanctions against five Russians for human rights violations.

According to the Associated Press, Russia barred the former U.S. officials from entry to protest the State Department adding five names to a blacklist connected to human rights violations in Russia. The Russians were targeted with sanctions under the Magnitsky Act, a 2012 law named for Russian lawyer and whistleblower Sergei Magnitsky who died in the hands of Russian authorities.

The list of the names was released in tandem with the State Department’s third annual report on the government’s implementation of the act.

The addition of the names Monday brought the number of people on the blacklist to 39. The law freezes U.S. assets of alleged human-rights abusers in Russia and imposes visa bans on them.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry on Tuesday labeled the U.S. government’s move "hypocritical" and said it would hurt U.S.-Russia ties. The foreign ministry published names of five former U.S. officials now blocked from entering Russia.

The list includes former attorney general Alberto Gonzales, former undersecretary of defense Douglas Feith, former CIA lawyer John Rizzo, former assistant attorney general Jay Scott Bybee, and former general counsel of the Defense Department William James Haynes II.

Morgan ChalfantEmail Morgan | Full Bio | RSSMorgan Chalfant is a staff writer at the Washington Free Beacon. Prior to joining the Free Beacon, Morgan worked as a staff writer at Red Alert Politics. She also served as the year-long Collegiate Network fellow on the editorial page at USA TODAY from 2013-14. Morgan graduated from Boston College in 2013 with a B.A. in English and Mathematics. Her Twitter handle is @mchalfant16.